In laboratory environments, it is often necessary to transport bottles and containers of chemicals, laboratory tools and instruments, safety equipment such as goggles, gloves, and masks, and cleaning supplies to and from workstations and storage areas. Further, in clinical laboratory settings, patient specimens, including blood or solid tissue samples, are frequently added to the list of items to be transported. Also, on occasion, it is desirable to keep a collection of various chemical reagents along with necessary accessories and a laboratory notebook together for easy transport or for fieldwork.
In order to aid laboratory personnel in performing their tasks, personnel may be provided with hand carried totes. Prior laboratory totes have typically been formed from polymer-coated wire or from polymeric materials that have been molded or otherwise fabricated into a rigid structure with a handle to provide a sturdy carrier with some degree of chemical resistance. While these totes are usually durable enough for most uses, they are also generally quite expensive, thus necessitating a level of permanence and requiring that the totes be routinely cleaned of chemical spills and drips, or decontaminated of biologically hazardous materials.
Another drawback of prior laboratory carriers is that they are generally configured to have either a single compartment or a fixed number of compartments for separating items to be transported. Accordingly, the number and dimensions of the compartments in prior totes cannot be varied to adequately store a variety of different items. Because prior carriers are made to fit only fixed sizes, shapes, and numbers of items, it has been necessary to have a separate carrier for almost every application. Prior totes are not practical for multipurpose use.
Also, polymer-coated wire totes are problematic in that the openness of the sides can lead to items falling out of the carrier. Furthermore, many prior totes are heavy and/or occupy an undesirably large amount of space when shipped or stored.
There is a need for a laboratory tote that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art as described above.